Housing for cut-out switches



March 30, 1937. c. w. BROWN 2,075,170

HOUSING FOR CUT-OUT SWITCHES Filed Aug. 24, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR v March 30, 1937. c, BRQWN 2,075,170

HOUSING FOR CUT-OUT SWITCHES Filed Aug. 24, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 &

INVENTOR Patented Mar. 3o, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Line Material Company,

South Win, a corporation of Delaware Application August 24, 1934, Serial No. 741,233

'12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in housings for cutout switches.

It is an object of this invention to provide a porcelain (or other insulating material) housing for cutout switches in which a maximum leakage distance is obtained between line terminals in the housing and between the line terminals and the ground.

Another object is to provide a housingin which all of the metal parts of the switch structure are concealed within the housing, thus increasing the factor of safety to a workman in the vicinity of the box as well as increasing the leakage distance from the metal parts to the ground. Still another object is to provide an improved mounting assembly for the housing door, whereby all of the parts may be individually manually manipulated by direct contact of the hand of the manipulator therewith, thus reducing tool handling and assembly operations to a minimum.

A further object is to provide a housing embodying the feature noted above composed of a single unitary piece of insulating material, which may be easily and cheaply manufactured. In the drawings:

Fig. l is a sectional view taken on the line li of Fig. 3 illustrating an embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view in elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1, a portion being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modified form of housing embodying this invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates a further modified form.

Figs. 6 and '7 are fragmentary front views of the upper and lower portions respectively of the device shown in Fig. 5.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

This invention relates to that class of cutout switch housings disclosed in the patent, to Kyle,

, Reissue #l8,020,issued March 31, 1931 for Fuse boxes.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the housing comprises a single piece of wet process porcelain formed to provide a back wall I, side walls 2 and 3, and top wall 4, the housing being open at its front and bottom. The back wall is provided on its exterior face with a bracket mounting stud 5 cemented into the recess 3, and on its interior face with a terminal mounting stud I cemented in the recess 8. The side walls 2 and 3 respectively are provided with apertures II and I2 for receiving the ends of conductors to be connected to the terminals as will more specifically appear hereafter. The side walls areprovidedwith corresponding ledges projectingipwardly from the wall toward each other and spaced from each other and the back wall to provide a substan- 5 tially non-obstructed bottom. The ledges l3 are each provided with a bolt-receiving aperture I. The connector plate I! is provided with conductor-receiving apertures l3 and set screws i1. Secured to the terminal mounting stud I by 10 means of the bolt I8 is a spring contact jaw i8. The apertures IS in the plate I! are preferably at an angle corresponding to the angle of the apertures i2, thus approximating the angle at which the conductors will naturally enter the 15 housing apertures.

Secured to the upper terminal mounting stud 9 by means of the bolt 24 is a connector plate 20, having conductor-receiving apertures 2i and set screws 22. Mounted on the connector plate a 20 is a spring contact 23 secured thereto by means of the bolt 24'. The apertures 2i are preferably at an angle corresponding to the angle of the apertures H secured at an angle which conductors entering the housing tend to assume. 2 Spring contact plates 23 comprise two strips of springmetal bent inwardly and rearwardly relative to the front of the housing to provide a contact end 25.

As illustrated, the outer edge of the walls 2, 3 30 and 4 are provided with a shoulder 30 to receive the door 3|. The door is composed of insulating materialand is removably supported by the'hook pivot arms 32 which receive the plnions 33 on the door. The arms 32 are secured to the ledges 3 [3 by means of the bolts 34, which extend through the apertures l4, and nuts 35. As will be observed, the threaded ends of the bolts 34 and the nuts 35 are positioned in the space between the ledges l3 and the back wall I of the housing.

Mounted on the door 3| is a fuse cartridge comprising a tube 33, an upper contact ferrule 39 and a lower contact 40. The ferrule 39 and contact 4|! are removably secured to the door 3| 4 by stud bolts 4iengaged with the supporting arms 42 on the ferrule and the contact. Extending from the tube 33 connected'with the ferrule 39 by means of the cap 43 (in a manner not shown) is a fuse link 44 which extends on the a lower end of the tube 38 to the contact 40 and is secured thereto by the terminal bolt 43.

The contact 40 is frictionally engaged with the prongs 46 of the contact 13 and the cap 43 is frictionally engaged with the contact 23. Thus, a

when the door 3| is closed, an electric circuit will be established through the fuse link 44.

The box or housing 50, shown in Fig. 4, is of standard design, such as disclosed in the aforementioned patent to Kyle, except that the bot tom has been removed and lugs or ledges 13 provided upon the side walls 52. These ledges l3 are apertured at M to receive the bolts 34 (shown in Fig. l) for securing hinge supports or hookedpivot arms 32 (also shown in Fig. 1) to the ledges l3. -Thus, the door of the housing and upon which the fuse cartridge is mounted may be mounted on its hinges with all metal parts concealed in the housing and with a maximum leakage distance between these parts and the supports for the housing. The housing 50 is provided with the usual recesses 53 for mounting the terminal contacts such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is provided with the usual recess 6 for securing a supporting bracket, is provided with apertures H and E2 in its side walls for receiving conductors, and is provided with a ridge 54 for increasing the leakage distance between tenninal contacts which may be mounted in the re cesses The modified form shown in Fig. 5 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. However, the top wall l is altered to provided a groove or slot'55 extending from the front of the housing to a point intermediate the margins of the top, for mounting a terminal contact support (not shown). The exact form of the support is believed to be immaterial, the groove or slot 55 being suggestive of a way which will render it easy to mount the upper terminal contact on the top wall 6. In Fig. 6 another view of the slot 55 is given from the front of the housing. It will thus be seen that the groove is provided with ledges 58 adapted to co-act in a suitable manner with a suitable terminal mounting when secured therein.

In Figs. 5 and 7, the housing is provided with ledges i3A each having a slot "-13 extending towards the adjacent side walls 2 and 3 and extending relatively vertically to the bottom i of the housing. Thus, in efiect, the ears l3-A each comprise a pair of parallel ear sections between which mounting bolts for the hinges may be placed. Obviously, the slots l4--B will permit the desired adjustment of the hinges laterally relative to each other. I have not shown the hinge structure mounted on the modified i'orm illustrated in Figs. 5 and 7, since it will be obvious as to the manner of mounting such hinges. The upper slot 55 and the slotted ears l3-A have been shown merely for suggestive purposes in manufacturing the fuse housing in question.

The modified form shown in Fig. 4 is illustrated as a standard fuse housing with the excep tion of the change at the bottom of the housing to provide the hinge supporting ears in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing, thereby to conceal metal parts within the housing and to increase the leakage distances from these metal parts to the terminals within the housing and the support exteriorly of the housing. This form of housing may generally be preferred over the other form illustrated, because of the symmetrical arrangement of all of the elements of the housing.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a fuse box in which all of the metal parts of the switch mechanism have been concealed within the box, in which the leakage distance between line terminals and the ground has been increased to a maximum. in which the,

assembling operations have been simplified, and in which all of these features have been secured in a single-unitary piece of porcelain.

I claim:

1. A housing for a cutout, said housing comprising a rear wall, a top wall and side walls, said housing being open at its front and bottom and provided with hinge supporting ears extending from and normal to the interior surfaces of the side walls, said ears being spaced from the rear wall of the housing.

2. A housing for cutouts, said housing comprising a single unitary piece oi. insulating material having side walls and open at its front and bottom and provided with hinge supporting ears extending inwardly from and substantially normal to the side walls, said ears being spaced from the rear wall.

3. In combination, a housing comprising a rear wall, top wall, and side walls provided with apertured hinge supporting ears projecting from and normal to said walls interiorly of said housing, said ears being spaced from said rear wall, hinge supports secured to said ears by means of bolts extending through the apertures therein, said bolts being disposed entirely within said housing, terminal contacts mounted in said housing, a door pivoted on said hinge supports for closing said housing, and a fuse cartridge supported by the door and electrically connecting said terminals.

4. The combination witha cutout housing comprising a single unitary piece of insulating material having contact mounting recesses in its rear wall, conductor receiving apertures in its side walls, and hinge supporting ears projecting inwardly from and normal to the side walls, said ears being spaced from the rear wall 01 and entirely within said housing; of hinge supports mounted on said cars, a door mounted on said hinge support for closing said housing, contacts mounted in said recesses, and a cartridge mounted on said door and connecting said terminals.

5. A cutout housing comprising a rear wall, a top wall, and side walls provided with hinge supporting ears of insulating material normal to the side walls and spaced from the rear wall to hingably mounting a door thereon.

6. A cutout housing comprising a rear wall, a top wall, and side walls provided with means for hingably mounting a door thereon, the rear wall and the top wall each being provided with means for mounting a terminal thereon.

7. A cutout housing comprising a single unitary piece of wet process porcelain having a terminal receiving recess in its rear wall, a terminal receiving recess in its top wall, conductor receiving apertures in its side walls, and hinge supporting ears projecting inwardly from the side walls; hinges mounted on said ears, a door mounted on said hinges, terminals mounted in said recesses, and a fuse cartridge electrically connecting said terminals and supported by said hinges.

8. A cutout housing comprising a single unitary piece of wet process porcelain having a terminal receiving recess in its rear wall, a terminal receiving recess in its top wall, conductor receiving apertures in its side walls, and means for supporting a pair of hinges; hinges mounted on said means, a door mounted on said hinges-terminals mounted in said recesses, and a use cartridge mounted on said door and connecting said terminals.

9. Acutout housing comprising a rear wall havlngaterminslreceivingreoess,atopwsllhsving a terminal receiving recess, and a bible supporting means; hinges mounted on said means, terminals mounted in said recesses, and a fuse cartridge supported by said hinges and electrically connecting said terminals.

10. A cut-out housing comprising a rear wall. top wall, and side walls, said housing being open at its front and bottom; in combination with 10 hinges, insulating means disposed wholly within the housing and supporting the hinges therefrom, said insulating means being spaced from the rear wall, and a door mounted on said hinges.

11. A cut-out housing comprising a rear wall,

15 top wall, and side walls, said housing being open at its front and bottom; in combination with spaced contact terminals in the housing, hinges normal to said rear wall, wheneby hinge securing means may be wholly disposed within said housing. I

CHESTER W. BROWN. 

